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Top 10 CNN Hero: Dale Beatty

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Sometimes it finds them a new home; sometimes it modifies an existing home

It's a way for communities to come together and thank veterans for their sacrifice

It was supposed to be a routine patrol for Dale Beatty, a National Guardsman serving in northern Iraq.

But when the Humvee he was in veered slightly off the road, his life changed in an instant.

"I remember seeing all the sand across the dash of the Humvee go up in the air. That was pretty much the last thing I remember," Beatty recalled eight years later. "And there was a big boom, lots of pain."

The vehicle hit an anti-tank land mine, flying nearly 50 feet in the air. When Beatty came to, his legs were pinned under the wreckage. Within days, both were amputated below the knee.

It was a life-altering injury, but from the beginning, Beatty had a positive attitude about it.

"For some reason, I've always been able to see how lucky I am," he reflected, noting that his injuries made it possible to wear prosthetic legs. "It's not like losing a fingernail. But ... it's just the way it has to be. I've met people that have been hurt a lot worse than me that have lived full, fulfilling lives. So there's no excuse for me not to."

Beatty spent a year recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, and he hoped to build a house for his wife and two young sons when he returned home to Statesville, North Carolina. But given his new reality -- two prosthetic legs and, at times, a wheelchair -- he wasn't sure how he'd manage it.

That's when a member of his church, who'd heard about Beatty's situation, took action.

Dale Beatty, right, has organized help for 17 disabled veterans since 2008.

He persuaded the Iredell County Builders Association -- of which he was a member -- to help Beatty build a wheelchair-accessible home with wide doorways and roll-in bathrooms. The land was donated by Beatty's father, and volunteers pitched in to help while Beatty supervised.

"The whole community helping me, and working alongside me, it was such a good feeling," said Beatty, now 34.

Throughout the construction, Beatty consulted his friend John Gallina, a building contractor with whom he'd served in the National Guard and was driving the Humvee when it hit the land mine. Gallina suffered a traumatic brain injury in the blast and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. While his wounds were less visible than Beatty's, he also struggled to adjust to post-war life.

When the house was finished, Beatty and Gallina decided to "pay it forward" to help other disabled veterans. In 2008, they pooled their military disability payments and started Purple Heart Homes, a nonprofit that so far has modified or helped provide homes for 30 disabled veterans in several East Coast states.

In the past decade, a number of nonprofits have sprung up to help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with their housing issues. But according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, those two wars account for only a small percent -- less than 15% -- of the entire veteran population.

Dale Beatty, left, and John Gallina pooled their disability payments to help other veterans in need.

Beatty's and Gallina's organization will help any disabled service member who was wounded during his or her military service, even if it was decades ago.

"The Gulf War vets have a lot of issues, and we know there are people who got hurt in Bosnia, Kosovo ... Vietnam," Beatty said. "We just wanted to level the playing field."

Dave Morrell, who lives near Beatty in Harrisburg, North Carolina, served three tours with the Special Forces in Vietnam and ultimately lost a leg because of complications from exposure to Agent Orange. When Beatty and Gallina heard that he often had to crawl into his bathroom because his wheelchair wouldn't fit through his home's narrow doorways, they decided to help.

"I'd have been happy if they could've figured a way just to widen the door," Morrell said. "To have them build a complete new addition and a whole new bathroom was unbelievable."

Purple Heart Homes, using donated labor and materials, will help any disabled veteran who is a homeowner, and all repairs are free. Beatty and Gallina know that projects such as adding ramps or renovating bathrooms can make a big difference for veterans and their caregivers.

"We want to make those changes that make their life easier, safer, just better," Beatty said.

Beatty and Gallina also want to help those who can't afford to buy their own home, many from the younger generation. While the organization has built a couple of houses from the ground up, it has also developed a program that moves veterans into foreclosed properties donated by banks and municipalities. The group matches a disabled veteran with each property and then partners with a community organization that can gather volunteers to renovate it.

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This local support is an essential part of Purple Heart Homes. Beatty and Gallina believe that working with community members makes a big difference to veterans, who can often feel isolated and socially withdrawn.

"When you have people saying thank you (by coming) to your home to swing a hammer and paint a wall, it says something different than shaking your hand and buying you a drink," said Gallina, 34. "And that support continues once the project is done."

Demond Taylor is an Iraq war veteran who suffers from PTSD, among other things. His future home in South Euclid, Ohio, is still in the process of being renovated, but he's already feeling the benefits of the project.

"Every time I turn around, it's a new person saying hello," Taylor said. "This is the first time since I got home that I actually felt the 'thank you,' the 'wish you well.' "

When the renovation work is finished on these donated homes, the house is appraised and Purple Heart Homes will help the veteran get a mortgage for 50% or less of its value. Beatty and Gallina discovered that many veterans struggle with poor credit, so by making affordable payments on a mortgage, they are able to improve their credit score and build equity.

Beatty believes it's a solution that helps veterans as well as their communities.

"We are putting value back into the properties by not making them free, and we are putting value into the veteran," Beatty said. "This is a hand up, not a handout."

Photos:The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013

Photos:The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – After Dale Beatty, right, lost his legs in the Iraq war, his community thanked him for his service by helping him build a home. To pay it forward, Beatty co-founded Purple Heart Homes, which has helped build or modify homes for dozens of disabled U.S. veterans. "We wouldn't leave someone behind on the battlefield," Beatty said. "Why would we do it at home?"

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Photos:The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – For decades, Georges Bwelle watched his father suffer, unable to get the medical attention he needed. Now a doctor, Bwelle travels into the jungles of his native Cameroon nearly every weekend, providing free medical care for those who don't have access to good health care. "To make people laugh, to reduce the pain, that's why I'm doing this," he said.

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Photos:The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – More than 72,000 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, lack access to fresh produce. When Robin Emmons discovered this problem, she took action. "I decided to rip up my whole backyard and make it all a garden for people in need," she said. Since 2008, Emmons has grown more than 26,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables for area residents.

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Photos:The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – Foster children don't often get the things other children do, but Danielle Gletow is trying to help change that. She posts their wishes online so the public can help grant them. "I'm here to be the mom to all these kids who might not feel like they have one," she said. Since 2008, her group has helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.

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Photos:The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013

The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – Tawanda Jones is using dance to empower the youth of Camden, New Jersey, one of the poorest cities in the country. Through Jones' drill team program, at least 4,000 children have learned discipline, respect and community service -- and all of them have graduated high school. "We need to take back our city and, most importantly, take back our youth," Jones said.

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – For many children fighting cancer, it can be extremely tough to make it to their chemotherapy appointments. But Richard Nares started a group that gives them transportation and support. "No child should miss their cancer treatment due to lack of transportation," said Nares, who lost his son to leukemia in 2000.

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – Kakenya Ntaiya is inspiring change in her native Kenyan village. After becoming the first woman in the village to attend college in the United States, she returned to open the village's first primary school for girls. "Our work is about empowering the girls," Ntaiya said. "They are dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers, doctors."

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – Chad Pregracke has made it his life's work to clean up the Mississippi River and other American waterways. Since 1998, about 70,000 volunteers have helped Pregracke remove more than 7 million pounds of garbage from 22 rivers across the country. "Picking up garbage, it's tough, miserable and hot," Pregracke said. "We try to make it fun."

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – Estella Pyfrom used her life savings to create "Estella's Brilliant Bus," a mobile computer lab that provides tutoring for thousands of low-income students in Palm Beach County, Florida. "It's not just a bus, it's a movement," Pyfrom said. "And we're going to keep making a difference."

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The top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013 – Laura Stachel created a special "solar suitcase" to help health-care workers deliver babies in more than 20 developing countries. "I really want a world where women can deliver babies safely and with dignity," Stachel said.

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With donations and grants, Purple Heart Homes has grown rapidly since it was founded four years ago. The nonprofit has received more than 700 applications, and it gets about four or five new ones a week. More than 100 projects have already been approved and are in the pipeline.

Beatty and Gallina say their new mission is more than just providing veterans with accessible homes; it's about encouraging communities to get involved with those who served their country.

"My great-grandfather was in World War I, grandfather was in World War II, my dad was in Vietnam. I've seen the uniforms hanging in the closets," Beatty said. "Other people have no connection. ... (We want) to just open people's eyes."

Kevin Smith is a Vietnam veteran from Newton, North Carolina, who suffered knee and back injuries in an accident aboard an aircraft carrier. For decades, he endured dozens of operations and gradually became more reclusive -- in part because he was afraid of falling down his front steps, which didn't have a handrail.

"For 35 years, no one cared," Smith said.

But when Purple Heart Homes built a wheelchair ramp in front of his home, it changed his life. The physical improvements made it easier for him to move about safely, and the goodwill gesture deeply touched Smith.

"(They) made me realize that I had value and worth and that I meant something," he said.

Now Smith socializes frequently with his neighbors and other veterans. He says it's all because of Purple Heart Homes.

"They jump-started me back into life ... (and) said welcome home," Smith said, tearfully. "It's great to be home after 40 years."

For Beatty and Gallina, their work is about giving all veterans the same level of respect.

"Regardless of when you served, where you served ... we're all the same," Beatty said. "They just need to know that somebody does care about them.

"We wouldn't leave someone behind on the battlefield. Why would we do it at home?"